kelly Rocket

I mean, I get why MMs have low Leadership multipliers. Thematically it doesn't make sense, as Masterminds are obviously great leaders. But mechanically... A Mastermind gets 6 times the benefit from Leadership powers that any other AT does. So it really had to be reduced a bit.

Honestly I feel there's a ton of variety in Mastermind primaries. A Thugs MM will play very differently from a Ninjas MM, or a Beasts MM, and Necro is just completely different from all the others. Choice of secondary also heavily alters how you play. Even epic pool can completely change your approach, where on most ATs it's just kind of an add-on you don't notice. Do you take Provoke and tank for the pets, or hang back and send them in and just support them from afar? Just that choice there can completely change the play. My Bots/Time and Necro/Dark couldn't be much more different from each other, even though Time and Dark have a fair deal in common. Bots/Time is my MM debuffing and immobilizing the spawn and the Bots unleashing absolute hell AoE damage. MM takes the alpha, but the pets take aggro after that. My Necro/Dark on the other hand, the MM opens with Fearsome Stare and Darkest Night and immediately starts using Provoke to maintain the enemy's attention while the pets very slowly kill everything. On a team, my Bots/Time is a debuffer with pets that help a little if they actually get triggered while he's on bodyguard mode. The Necro on the other hand is basically a CC specialist who also supports a bit. My Thugs/Storm is different from both of those, even though Thugs and Bots are sort of similar in a lot of ways. Requires more attention and care, and if I slip up things can go to hell in a handbasket *extremely* quickly.

Well like I said, the economy on Homecoming already has a VASTLY higher value for influence than we had back when the game was actually live. I mean literal orders of magnitude. So I don't see it as a significant problem. If anything I'm impressed with how well they've managed it. You should hear what the prices are like on Rebirth, where they haven't seeded the market.

TBH, what problems? The economy is running smoother now than it was in the old days before Sunset. Nothing costs more than 30 million, where in the old days some individual IOs cost billions. I don't see it as a problem that you can use the market to make more money than you get from running content. Especially given a strong endgame build is going to run you near a billion inf--which, again, is still massively less than it used to cost.

I'd honestly kill to have Wind Control. I don't care if it's all recycled animations from older sets even, I would be making a new Controller the instant it became available.

Err... what? It takes one click. Shift+left click removes a slot.

Those resistances are the default debuff resistances for any +4 mobs or AVs... But some mobs actually have specifically coded debuff resists that are added to those defaults. The actual Defense Debuff Resistance cap is 95%, so it's actually possible to run into mobs that have 95% Defense Debuff Resistance. If they're an AV, they only need a 7% Defense Debuff Resistance auto power to hit that 95% cap. And yeah, my build isn't designed for soloing AVs. I have my Bots/Time for that, and he manages it fine. Against normal mobs, and even EBs, the Bonfire/FR/Snow Storm combo should be more than sufficient to keep them stuck in place. I wanted to do a build that used Bonfire instead of an AoE immob, and Storm for the Bonfire+FR+Tornado combo seemed to be ideal, and then I picked Thugs because Thugs are so easy to soft cap that even Storm can do it. Also, on a side-note, my Bots/Time uses Mace Mastery, of course, because you don't do Time without Power Boost... And I actually find that even with Web Envelope it's quite hard to keep an AV locked down, and with most Monster/Giant Monster enemies you simply can't do it at all. I still beat Jurassik, but it was a nightmare of chasing him around.

I actually do solo through the early game, mostly. Hit the P2W vendor and get the 2x XP rate, and street sweep to 4, takes like 20 minutes, maybe 30. MAYBE 45 minutes with a really slow soloing AT. MAYBE. Then Matthew Habashy->Officer Fields->Aaron Thierry, that gets me to level 9-10, Then do the first Twinshot arc. Then if I'm feeling like I'm not hitting well, or needing more endurance, I'll run DfB once or twice to get the accuracy and/or recovery boost rewards. If I need to run it twice I turn off xp for it. Then I do the second and third Twinshot arcs, and at that point I'm level 18-19 or so. All of that takes maybe 5 hours? Probably less usually. Radio missions to get to 20 after that are easy enough, maybe join a Synapse if someone's running one. Join a Penelope Yin after that, or just radio missions until 22, and then I just have my crafter alt whip up a full set of level 25 IOs. I literally do not buy enhancements before that. I'll slot TOs/DOs I get as drops, at most. Sometimes I don't even bother with that. The SOs I get if I run a DfB or two I just sell, because they're worth a significant amount of inf (For the early game anyway), and I don't see the point in slotting them when I'm leveling that fast, they'll just go red in an hour or whatever. All told, it's maybe, maybe 8 hours of gameplay to get to 22, assuming I do nothing but radio missions from 18 or 19 until 22. If I'm in a hurry to level a toon I could do this in 3-4 hours with just DfB to 20 and then running a Posi 1. After that I usually try to find a group to tag along with to get me to 25, so I can go solo through the whole Croatoa arc. After Croatoa I don't care much. I'll MSR and join PI mission/radio teams until 50, unless I spot someone advertising for team members for a Task Force in my level range that I haven't run yet. I leave double xp on the whole time because... frankly why do I need the inf rewards for defeating enemies and completing missions when my crafter/marketeer alts can make 50 million inf in half an hour of craft and convert?

Truthfully... Even if TOs/DOs were as strong as SOs/IOs... I STILL would never slot them. They stop working after 5 levels at most. That's like an hour of play--assuming you're not DfBing to powerlevel, because if you are it's even less time. It's not worth spending the influence. No matter how good they are, I wouldn't use them, ever.

Enforcer Tactics is 2.5% base. My copy of Pine's loads your build with a 3 enhancement gap in Call Enforcer, between the two Superior Mark of Supremacys and the Lady Grey, I assume you must have at least two Cytoskeleton Exposures in there, if you're getting 3.75 That said, I wouldn't consider 7% ToHit anywhere near enough, personally. I don't like relying too heavily on debuffs, because then you run into something with 90% Defense Debuff Resistance and it ruins your day. Here's my Thugs/Storm, if you're interested at all. You probably won't like it as I skipped the Primary attacks entirely, but I didn't feel I'd need them with Storm. Personal defenses are also a bit low, but the pets are soft-capped, and I intend to use Knockdown as my primary mitigation. Got to level 27 in just one day of playing today, and already works nicely. Villain Plan by Mids' Reborn : Hero Designer 2.6.0.3 https://github.com/ImaginaryDevelopment/imaginary-hero-designer Click this DataLink to open the build! Level 50 Magic Mastermind Primary Power Set: Thugs Secondary Power Set: Storm Summoning Power Pool: Leadership Power Pool: Medicine Power Pool: Leaping Power Pool: Speed Ancillary Pool: Heat Mastery Villain Profile: Level 1: Call Thugs -- SprMarofS-Dmg/EndRdx(A), SprMarofS-Acc/Dmg(3), SvrRgh-Acc/Dmg(3), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(5), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(5), SlbAll-Build%(7) Level 1: Gale -- SuddAcc--KB/+KD(A), FrcFdb-Rechg%(7), Acc-I(25), Acc-I(50) Level 2: O2 Boost -- Prv-Heal(A), Prv-Heal/EndRdx(9), Prv-EndRdx/Rchg(9), Prv-Heal/Rchg(11), Prv-Heal/Rchg/EndRdx(11), Prv-Absorb%(17) Level 4: Snow Storm -- PcnoftheT-EndRdx/Rchg/Slow(A) Level 6: Equip Thugs -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 8: Maneuvers -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(31), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(31) Level 10: Steamy Mist -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A), RedFrt-Def/EndRdx(39), LucoftheG-Def/EndRdx(40), LucoftheG-Def(40), StdPrt-ResDam/Def+(40), GldArm-3defTpProc(42) Level 12: Call Enforcer -- SprMarofS-Dmg(A), SprMarofS-Acc/EndRdx(13), HO:Cyto(13), HO:Cyto(15), SprCmmoft-Acc/Dmg(15), GssSynFr--Build%(17) Level 14: Tactics -- AdjTrg-ToHit(A), AdjTrg-ToHit/Rchg(39), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx/Rchg(39), AdjTrg-EndRdx/Rchg(46), AdjTrg-ToHit/EndRdx(50) Level 16: Freezing Rain -- RechRdx-I(A), RechRdx-I(42), EndRdx-I(42), SprFrzBls-Rchg/ImmobProc(43), Ann-ResDeb%(43), AchHee-ResDeb%(43) Level 18: Gang War -- EdcoftheM-PetDef(A), CaltoArm-+Def(Pets)(34), SvrRgh-PetResDam(34), ExpRnf-+Res(Pets)(37) Level 20: Hurricane -- DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb(A), DarWtcDsp-ToHitdeb/Rchg/EndRdx(21), DarWtcDsp-ToHitDeb/EndRdx(21), DarWtcDsp-Slow%(23), FrcFdb-Rechg%(23), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(25) Level 22: Injection -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 24: Aid Self -- Pnc-Heal/EndRedux(A), Pnc-EndRdx/Rchg(33), Pnc-Heal/Rchg(33), Pnc-Heal/EndRedux/Rchg(33), Pnc-Heal(34) Level 26: Call Bruiser -- SprMarofS-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx(A), SprMarofS-EndRdx/+Resist/+Regen(27), SprCmmoft-Dmg/EndRdx(27), SprCmmoft-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(29), SprCmmoft-Acc/Dmg/EndRdx/Rchg(29), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(31) Level 28: Combat Jumping -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 30: Hasten -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 32: Upgrade Equipment -- EndRdx-I(A) Level 35: Tornado -- ExpRnf-Acc/Rchg(A), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg(36), ExpRnf-Dmg/EndRdx(36), ExpRnf-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(36), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(37), AchHee-ResDeb%(37) Level 38: Bonfire -- Ann-Dmg/Rchg(A), JvlVll-Dam/Rech(46), PstBls-Dmg/Rchg(48), FrcFdb-Rechg%(48), Ann-ResDeb%(48), SuddAcc--KB/+KD(50) Level 41: Fire Ball -- Rgn-Dmg/Rchg(A), Rgn-Acc/Dmg/Rchg(45), Rgn-Acc/Rchg(45), Rgn-Dmg/EndRdx(45), Rgn-Knock%(46) Level 44: Lightning Storm -- Acc-I(A) Level 47: Rise of the Phoenix -- RechRdx-I(A) Level 49: Vengeance -- LucoftheG-Def/Rchg+(A) Level 1: Brawl -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Dash -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Slide -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Quick -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Rush -- Empty(A) Level 1: Prestige Power Surge -- Empty(A) Level 1: Sprint -- Empty(A) Level 1: Supremacy Level 2: Rest -- Empty(A) Level 4: Ninja Run Level 2: Swift -- Empty(A) Level 2: Health -- Mrc-Rcvry+(A), Pnc-Heal/+End(19) Level 2: Hurdle -- Empty(A) Level 2: Stamina -- EndMod-I(A), EndMod-I(19) ------------ ------------ Set Bonus Totals: 9% DamageBuff(Smashing) 9% DamageBuff(Lethal) 9% DamageBuff(Fire) 9% DamageBuff(Cold) 9% DamageBuff(Energy) 9% DamageBuff(Negative) 9% DamageBuff(Toxic) 9% DamageBuff(Psionic) 6% Defense(Melee) 10% Defense 6% Defense(Smashing) 6% Defense(Lethal) 6% Defense(Fire) 6% Defense(Cold) 6% Defense(Energy) 6% Defense(Negative) 6% Defense(Psionic) 6% Defense(Ranged) 6% Defense(AoE) 1.35% Max End 102.5% Enhancement(RechargeTime) 3.75% Enhancement(Max EnduranceDiscount) 24% Enhancement(Accuracy) GrantPower Preventive Medicine (10% chance, if Scourge) 72.29 HP (9%) HitPoints MezResist(Confused) 26.25% MezResist(Held) 26.25% MezResist(Immobilized) 26.25% MezResist(Sleep) 26.25% MezResist(Stunned) 26.25% MezResist(Terrorized) 26.25% 9% (0.15 End/sec) Recovery 180% (6.02 HP/sec) Regeneration 37.25% Resistance(Smashing) 37.25% Resistance(Lethal) 44% Resistance(Fire) 44% Resistance(Cold) 39.5% Resistance(Energy) 39.5% Resistance(Negative) 35% Resistance(Toxic) 35% Resistance(Psionic)

Yeah well, my Mastermind builds can generally solo +4/x8, so on a team I can hold the spawn until the Tank shows up pretty easily. The only way I die is if I get just stupefyingly unlucky and the pets take too long to catch up to me. Almost never happens though. And I only jump ahead by one spawn, when the current spawn is nearly completely finished off. And I'm actually softening them up for the team, eating the alpha and applying my debuffs.

Paragonwiki has some of that information. But not for the Lore sets that were being introduced with i24.

Good to know. At this point though, since I don't have an exhaustive list of what it does and doesn't cause problems with, and since I consider knockback to be the literal devil on most of my toons, I just avoid Overwhelming Force in knockback powers. Sudden Acceleration is cheaper anyway.

There absolutely is a known problem with Overwhelming Force not always working properly and sometimes causing knockbacks. It happened to me when slotted on my Assault Bot, and on my Battle Drones both. I had to just unslot it entirely and use Sudden Acceleration instead. There's a bug report on it in the bug reports subforum with several other people having had the same experiences, with a whole slew of powers. I haven't tested it on Bonfire specifically, but at this point I simply won't bother trying it on anything that already does knockback. If it works in Bonfire that's great, but I'd still probably put it in something else, to get knockdown out of a power that doesn't have any. You can only slot Overwhelming Force in your build once, where Sudden Acceleration can be slotted in every knockback power you have. So you want to be picky about where you put Overwhelming Force. It's sort of a waste to put it in a power that already does knockback or knockdown IMO. With Heat Mastery, I'd put it in Fireball instead, personally. Unless I was going to put the Ragnarok proc in that. Though it might be worth slotting both, but I'd want to test on the beta server to make sure they don't stack to a knockback ever.

My Bots/Time was able to keep out all 3 tiers of pets with only occasional resummoning during MSRs, even in his 30s. Gotta love soft-capped pets.

I would think the synergy is just that Nature--like Empathy, Pain, Storm, etc--requires a primary with pets that are naturally very tough. And the "very tough" pets are basically just Beasts and Demons, and arguably Bots. So there just aren't a lot of valid choices for primary, if you wanted to run a /Nature MM.

Sudden Acceleration, not Overwhelming Force. Bonfire is auto-hit and 100% chance of knockback. There's literally no need whatsoever for Overwhelming Force's chance of knockdown, and that could in fact potentially cause the "stacking knockdowns" problem and cause occasional knockbacks instead of knockdowns. Stick with Sudden Acceleration unless there's an actual need for the chance for knockdown proc. Overwhelming Force should be reserved for powers that don't do knockback/knockdown on their own, or maybe powers that only have a very small chance of knockdown/knockback.

Unfortunately the targets you want that against the most (AVs and GMs) tend to run around like headless chickens, and the bots are slow, so this tends to mean you can't keep the -regen on them constantly.

Don't forget that using Gang War makes the Gaussian's proc more often, because Enforcer Tactics applies to the Gang War mobs.

I often run out ahead of the team's Tank with my MMs, because they're usually built to be able to easily survive alphas, and I don't want to turn off bodyguard mode. So I *want* to take the alpha, so my pets in defensive mode flag all the enemies as targets and start attacking. So that I don't have to micro them and can focus on debuffing. It works fine. I almost never die. And the team doesn't need me around for cleanup of the last few mobs, they need me debuffing the new, full strength spawns.

To be fair... if Veng could be invoked on dead pets, it wouldn't be good. It would be incredible. It would be absolutely brokenly overpowered, to the point that every MM would plan their builds around getting it by level 16 (The minimum level you can take it at).

Double build up should not be possible, due to the way that procs work. They can never stack, even if they're from multiple sources, because procs cause the target to cast the effect on themselves, which means it always counts it as being from the same source. If the Gaussian's proc is actually doing that, it means someone messed up and didn't add the "Effect does not stack from same caster" flag to their effect. Which I suppose they might have thought didn't matter anyway as it's generally impossible for it to stack when it only rolls chance once every 10 seconds, and only lasts for 5. But obviously for the Enforcers you have two of them and a ton of targets to trigger off, so they could conceivably both proc it and then... yeah. Which I suppose makes it an interesting exploit of sorts. Though frankly, given that it's on an MM with all the drawbacks of such (At least at high level/endgame) I'd argue it's not gamebreaking and should probably be left as-is 😉

Also the Beasts attacks all have good bonus effects, and give you stacks of Pack Mentality, so it's acknowledged that it's worth taking one or two.

1. You don't want to skip Fearsome Stare. It's often what you open a fight with. Fear is better than it seems, and Stare inflicts a rather hefty -ToHit in an AoE. Don't skip it. Gaze and Black Hole can be skipped, yes. As can Howling Twilight, but it's so good as an AoE auto-hit hold. 2. I like pairing Soul Mastery with /Dark, but Mace also works (Power Boost amplifies your -ToHit). Personally I'd rather use Tentacles and Night Fall to stack -ToHit that way. 3. Leadership toggles do affect pets. Which makes Leadership very good for MMs, even though they have a low multiplier for them. Tactics in particular really helps out pets who have a disadvantage when trying to hit high level mobs. Other than that, the standard things that are good for everyone: Combat Jumping, Tough and Weave, Hasten, etc. 4. There are Pet Damage sets, in addition to the Recharge Intensive Pets sets, and also your Mastermind ATO sets can be slotted in pets. It's important for most Masterminds to get all 6 of the unique "Pet Aura" IOs, that give your pets bonus Defense and Resistance when they're inside your Supremacy range. Those IOs are in the Edict of the Master, Sovereign Right, Call to Arms, Expedient Reinforcement, Command of the Mastermind, and Mark of Supremacy sets.

Nooo. They have to be like Targeting Drone, they must circle around me. In fact, start with Targeting Drone. Then add a Shield Drone. And Gun Drones that just orbit me and shoot at any enemy that gets too close. And then...